Top 10 Little-Known Facts about Memorial Day Fascinate your friends. Impress your in-laws. Amaze your acquaintances. At this year Memorial Day barbecue, show off your knowledge of the holiday with these ten little-known facts.

1. Memorial Day began after the Civil War. It was originally called Decoration Day because both Northerners and Southerners decorated the graves of their Civil War dead.
2. Memorial Day continued to be Civil War-focused until WWI when observances expanded to honor all those who had died in America?s wars. It is different from Veteran’s Day which honors all veterans living or dead.
3. The holiday was first widely observed on May 30, 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The cemetery, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., had been Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s plantation. It is thought the date was chosen because by that time of the year flowers would be in bloom all over the country.
4. About 5000 individuals attended the first ceremony, the same as today.  Read the rest of this entry »